New Moon Rising
by Diamond Iris
Summary: What if Edward never came back? What if Alice never returned to see if Bella was okay? And since Bella and Edward never got married and had Renesme, Jacob never imprinted on her. What if Bella and Jacob fell in love? All credit goes to Miss Myers.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Reality Bites

"_Good bye, Bella," he said in the same quiet, peaceful voice…"Take care of yourself," he breathed, cool against my skin._

_There was a light, unnatural breeze. My eyes flashed open. The leaves on a small vine maple shuddered with the gentle wind of his passage._

_**He was gone.**_

I was walking along the beach, the wind whipping at my hair, the waves gently lapping at my heels. All was calm. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge wave came crashing up against the shore. I was swept away in the tide into the turbulent waters. I'm able to get my head above the water; I see him standing on the shore. I call out to him _Edward!_ , but my voice is strained. I can barely get it above a whisper. Again, I cry out _Edward!_ , trying to make my voice louder over the crashing of the waves. He may not be able to hear me, but I know he can see me! Why doesn't he come and save me? I see him start to turn and walk away. I cry out, in vain, at one last attempt. _Edward!_ But just as I do, my head is pulled beneath water.

I didn't have to shake myself awake from this dream. For some reason, I awoke more calmly this time than I usually do. Charlie wasn't standing there, alarmed, in my room, so I know I hadn't woken up screaming, which was good; I think. This was progress. The more time I spent asleep, the less time Charlie spent up in my room, and that meant less time for him to worry about me. I was fine. I kept telling myself this, even though I knew it was a lie. I wasn't fine; and anyone that knew me as well as I do, would know that. But not many people knew me that well, other than Charlie and Jacob. Charlie had taken off of work for a couple of weeks to look after me to make sure I was okay. He actually had me on suicide watch for the first week. It took a lot of convincing to tell Charlie that I wasn't going to kill myself. It took even more convincing to get him to go back to work. He finally did and I was left home by myself. It was quiet and lonely with no one else there. I mean, Charlie was never one to make much noise in the first place, but, I was just so used to having someone else there with me that it was odd to be there alone.

Jacob was the only other person that knew me real well, other than Charlie. But I hadn't seen him in awhile. When Edwa—just thinking his name is painful. I mean, when "we" were together, Jacob wouldn't hang out with us. He didn't like him, for some reason. After he left, I hadn't seen any of my old friends. I was just too depressed. My other friends had shunned me after I stopped hanging out with them; except Jacob. He followed me around like a little puppy. It was like, no matter what I did to him, he was always there for me, by my side when I needed him. That very thought brought a smile to my face. I decided I was going to call Jacob one of these days and see how he was doing. Maybe we could hang out sometime. Yeah. I think I'd like that.

I was still lying in bed, trying to shake off that dream, wondering what it meant. I lay there quietly, listening to the wind rushing outside my window. The house was eerily still. Charlie had gone to work. It was just me, all alone in this house, all alone with my thoughts. This could be dangerous. Before all this happened, I hadn't minded being alone. But, now. I didn't know which I despised the most. Having Charlie here, rushing to my rescue every time I moved; or being alone. When Charlie was here, I wished he wasn't, and when he wasn't here, I wished he was. But, like I said, I was making progress. And in order to make more, I needed to be by myself.

I got up out of bed and decided that I would feel a whole lot better once I had taken a shower. I turned on the hot water, and just stood there for a few moments, allowing it to melt the chill that I had felt these last few weeks. It felt nice. I took my sweet time washing my hair and getting all clean. When I had finished, I grabbed my clean towel, wrung the water out of my hair, and dried off. I stood there in front of the sink. I wiped the mirror off and stood there, staring at myself. Wow. I looked different, somehow. I didn't look like…myself. It was like something had been taken from me, torn away, and I was not whole without it. As I stood there, I began to think about the dream I had. There had to be some meaning behind it, but I had no idea what it was. The very thought saddened me. I could bear the sight of me no longer. I turned off the light and walked to my bedroom.

I was rummaging through my clothes, deciding on what to wear, when I accidentally happened upon one of his old shirts. I started to bring it up to my nose so I could smell him, to remind myself that he was real. But I caught myself and stopped. I lowered it back down and shoved it to the back of my closet so I would never find it again. After slowly brushing out my hair and getting dressed, I headed downstairs to the kitchen and decided that I needed to eat something. I went into the cabinet and reached for the box of Wheaties. After all, it was the breakfast of champions, right? I slowly ate my meal, washed my dirty dishes, and put them away. Then suddenly I remembered. I was going to call Jacob Black. I picked up the phone and dialed his number from memory.

The phone rang a few times before a very familiar voice picked up and answered. "Hello?"

I wasn't expecting Jacob to answer. I was shocked at first and almost hung up on him from sheer embarrassment. But before he hung up the phone on me, I quickly replied, "Hi, Jake. It's me. Bella."

I didn't know if he was happy or delighted to hear my voice, because he didn't say anything at first. I think he was just as shocked as I was. "Oh! Hi, Bella! I wasn't expecting you to call. It's been a long time."

"Yeah," I agreed, "it has." So far our conversation wasn't headed in a very good direction. If I didn't say something fast, this was going to be the shortest phone call in the history of the world. "So," I ventured, "how have you been?" I think I knew the answer to this question. Miserable. Ever since I stopped talking to him after the "incident", he'd probably been pretty upset.

"Not too bad," he said to my surprise. I'd expected worse, but 'not too bad' was pretty good. "How about you? What've you been up to?"

I was afraid he was going to ask me this. Not wanting to run the risk of me telling him how I really was and crying on his shoulder the entire time, I gave a courteous answer. "Not much. Just been hanging around, that's all." More like hanging on. Again, the gist of our conversation left something to be desired. I had thought of asking him if he'd like to hang out sometime, but I wasn't sure if I was quite ready for that, yet. It was hanging on the tip of my tongue, and before I could stop it, I'd said it. "Hey, I was thinking. If you weren't too busy, would you like to hang out sometime?" I'd regretted saying it as soon as it left my mouth.

But to my chagrin, he'd happily responded, "Yeah! I'd love to! How's this Saturday? I'll come pick you up at 7, ok?"

Before I could even say anything, he'd said, "See you then, Bella! Bye!" and he hung up. My good-bye was delayed from shock and was said after he was already gone. I hung up the phone and plopped down on the sofa. Oh, dear Lord, I thought. What had I done? Well, it's too late to go back now, a voice inside my head replied. And who knows, you may just end up having fun. After all, you were best friends. So I took it in and, to my surprise, I found myself smiling: I had a date Saturday night.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

This Is Normal…Right?

Saturday night came way too fast. I was so nervous. I took a shower, brushed my hair, and settled on a pair of blue capri's with a white t-shirt and finished it off with a pair of black and white Chuck's. I was so nervous, I could barely sit down. Charlie could tell I was nervous, too.

"It's not like this is your first time doing this, you know. You and Edward always went out on dates."

I cringed at the very mention of his name. Apparently, Charlie had forgotten that I still had not quite gotten over the …incident. "Sorry, Bells. I didn't mean to…you know." He cleared his throat and just looked at the floor. "So, which movie are you guys seeing?"

Was he seriously doing this? He was asking me about my date? "I guess we're seeing some horror flick. You know me; not a real big romance freak."

Seven o'clock rolled around and, sure enough, Jacob arrived right on time. He drove up in his dad's truck. He got out, walked up to the door and rang the bell. I got up to answer it. I opened the door and there was Jacob, standing so tall that he barely fit in the doorway. Somehow, he seemed to have gotten…bigger. I mean, in terms of muscle mass and height. "Wow," I replied. "I know it's been a long time, but, since when did you grow to be so huge? What are they feeding you at the 'res'?"

He just looked at me and laughed his normal lighthearted laugh. I don't know what it was about it, but it made me feel warm inside. "Yeah," he said, "I think it's something in the water." We both just smiled at each other. It was kind of an awkward moment. We finally decided it was time to go. "Well, Charlie, I'll have her home by 10." Charlie grinned a little and shook his hand.

We headed out the door and towards the truck. Jacob opened the passenger side door first and let me in. He got into the truck and started the engine. We headed towards the city to get to the theatre. We got there and Jacob parked the truck. Again, he got out first and helped me out. Not that I need it, but, he was being a gentleman. _Wow,_ I thought_, he's really trying here. _We walked in silence to the theatre; I with my hands in my pockets and he swinging his arms. He had payed for the tickets and we sat down in our seats. _Great_, I thought, _two solid hours of sitting in a dark theatre with a studdly guy._ I'd never thought of him this way before. I don't know what it was about him that made me begin to change my mind. And suddenly, as if he'd heard my thoughts, he pulled the "stretch and yawn" routine and put his arm around me. I subtly glanced over at my shoulder at his hand resting on my arm. It was nice and warm. For some reason, I felt safe with him. The very feeling made me smile.

"Wow, that movie was strange," I replied as we walked out of the theatre. "I mean, it was kind of scary, but it was more or less just weird."

"Yeah, I definitely wouldn't see it again," he agreed. "But you don't have to put on a brave front for me. It's okay, you're a girl. You're allowed to be scared. That's why there are guys like me to comfort you."

I just laughed and gave him a friendly little shove with my shoulder. He laughed and shoved back and as he did, his arm went around my shoulder and back then he found my hand and held it. Out of instinct, I almost jerked it away. But it felt right, so I left it there. The drive home was a quiet and a little awkward. I think it was because both of us didn't know what to expect after this date was over. What if it didn't work out? Would we still be friends if it didn't? After what seemed like forever, we finally got back to my house. He walked me to my door and we made awkward conversation on the doorstep.

"So, I guess I'll see you later," I said.

"Yeah, I guess I will," he replied. I watched him as he turned to go. I was just about to turn the knob, when he quickly turned back, grabbed me by the shoulder, pulled me towards him, and kissed me full on the lips. It was like nothing I'd ever experienced before. It was like no one else in the world existed; like nothing else mattered. We pulled apart and I could have sworn I literally felt sparks. We just stared at each other, at a loss for words.

"Wow," he said. "I…umm… I…"

"Yeah," I agreed, "that was, umm, really something." It was getting awkward again. Before it could get anymore weird, we said our quick good byes and he turned to leave. I walked inside and closed the door. I locked it and stood with my back against the door. I just stood there, biting my lower lip, smiling. I went to bed that night thinking of nothing but that kiss. And that night, for the first time in a long time, I dreamed a good dream.

What was it about Jacob Black that I just could not get out of my head? For the next couple days, he was all I could think about. Because of that, I didn't call or talk to him after our date. I wasn't sure if I was ready to move one. Maybe I was moving too fast. After all, I just had my heart broken. I needed time to heal. _Heal from what?_ a voice inside my head said. From the…well, you know, I told it. _Come on_, it said, _how long ago was that? You have to move on some time. Maybe Jacob is exactly what you need to do that. Maybe this is a sign you have healed._ No, I told it, that's sheer idiocy. I couldn't have possibly healed after only…ummm…how many months has it been? I can't remember. Being with Jacob had made me forget all about Edward. Wow. I didn't flinch when I thought his name. Maybe that little voice inside my head was right. But how would I know? _You could give him a call_, it said. Hey, I could give him a call. And that's what I'll do. It's what I had to do; to move on; to start a new life. I owed it to him; and Charlie; and also, to myself. I was going to move on. You hear that, Edward. I don't need you. You're not my whole life anymore. Good bye.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

My So-Called New Life

It felt weird. Somehow, I'd felt different today. I had a spring in my step. I'd never felt like this before. What was it? I found myself smiling a lot more. Was this what it was like to feel happy? I liked it. I was going to see him again today. For once, I rummaged through my closet and didn't care what I wore. His family was a lot more relaxed; I felt I didn't have to impress them. I put on a pair of my ratty, torn blue jeans and a black t-shirt with my Chuck's. I bounced down the stairs towards the kitchen. Charlie noticed a change immediately. "You're awfully bubbly today. What you got going on for the afternoon?"

I poured myself a glass of orange juice. I put the pitcher back in the fridge and turned around, smiling at him. "Hanging out with Jake. I'm going to go over to his house and he's going to work on the Rabbit."

"You've been hanging out with him a lot lately. You really like him, don't you?"

As much as I didn't want to admit it, I did; I really did like him; a lot. What wasn't to love? He had a great personality, a great smile, and he was terribly good looking. I got into my truck and headed over to his house. When I pulled in the driveway, I could see him in the garage working hard on his car. I climbed out and slammed the door shut. As soon as heard me, he came running out of the garage towards me. I met him half way and he scooped me up into his arms and swung me around in a big hug. After he put me down, his hands lingered at my waist for a few seconds and my arms hung loosely around his neck. We didn't really notice because we were smiling at each other and staring into the others eyes.

We only broke apart because Billy came out the door. "Jake, you hungry? Oh, hello, Bella! Didn't know you were coming over today. You hungry?"

Jake looked at me like he was embarrassed. I just smiled at him. It's not like he caught us doing anything. "No, thanks, Billy," I politely replied, "I'm good for now."

He smiled back at us and wheeled himself back inside the house. "Sorry about that," Jake said. "I didn't know he was gonna come out like that."

"That's okay. I don't mind. How's your dad doing?"

"He's doing pretty well," he said. "I didn't tell him you were coming over because I didn't want him asking me a lot of questions. I suppose Charlie did the same thing."

"Surprisingly, no," I said. "He seemed excited and relieved that I was going to be here. I think he's just glad to see me out of the house. He knows I'm safe with you," I added with a bit of a nudge.

That last one made him smile. He took my hand and led me into the garage. I saw his car as soon as we stepped foot inside. "There she is," he said proudly. I could tell he was beaming with excitement. "She's not quite done yet, and I know she's not much to look at just now; but don't worry, I'll have her up and running in no time."

He showed me to a milk crate and had me sit down. I sat there contentedly and watched him work. We talked the entire time. It's strange; I didn't realize how much we had in common until this moment. And I was loving it.

I found myself thinking of him every waking moment. When I wasn't at school, I was in my room doing homework. And when I wasn't at home on the weekends, I was with Jake. But today was different. When I called him, his dad said he wasn't at home. That's odd, because we were supposed to hang out today. I hung up the phone and went back to my room. I thought nothing of it because I figured he probably had an emergency and had to leave right away. But when I called the next day and his dad said that he wasn't at home again, I began to worry. I wasn't sure what to think. Okay, I thought, we had some bad weather last night and he decided to stay at his friend's house and they didn't get to finish. The third day really had me starting to get upset. I began to think that he was deliberately trying to avoid me. Maybe I was scaring him off by us spending too much time together. I decided that tomorrow, I was going to go see him. I was going to see for myself whether or not he was really at home.

When I pulled into the driveway, I could sense that something was different. I knocked on the door and Billy answered. He didn't look as shocked as I thought he would. I guess he thought that I would begin to get suspicious and come check on him.

"I'm here to see Jake," I told him straight out. "I know he's home. Let me see him."

At first, he didn't want to let me in, but he could tell that I wasn't going to be going anywhere until I saw him. He wheeled himself back and let me walk past him. "He's in his room, sleeping."

I walked in and, sure enough, there he was, softly snoring away. He looked exhausted. Something wasn't right. What had he been doing these past three days that made him this way? I looked at Billy and asked him, "What's wrong with him?"

He looked at Jake, then back at me with genuine concern and said, "Bella, I don't think I'm the one who should explain that to you."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Explain This to Me

You know, they say that you should just let sleeping dogs lie. I didn't know now how ironic that phrase would be. He had been ignoring me for days and I wanted to get down to the bottom of this. I needed to know why he wasn't returning my calls and breaking our dates on such short notice. I walked into his room, and shook him, not very gently, awake. He awoke with a startle and looked at me like he didn't know who I was. He had this look in his eye like he had something wild and feral in him, like he wanted to kill me; trust me, I know that look, and I'd seen it before; just not from him.

"Jake, wake up," I told him. "We need to talk. Now." He just looked at me like he was upset with me for waking him. It sent a shiver down my spine, but I couldn't let him see that. I had to let him know this was serious. "Get out of bed. We need to talk."

Grudgingly, he sat up on the side of the bed and rubbed his head. "About what?" he asked.

_Seriously?_ I thought. _You really have no idea why I'm mad at you?_ This was unbelievable! Here he's been ignoring me for days and he has the guts to ask me why we need to talk! He just sat there; I wanted to smack him. Finally, the look on his face melted and he became the same old Jake that I knew.

"I'm sorry," he replied. "You deserve an explanation. And you'll get one, I promise. Just let me wake up first. I've been asleep for days and I really need a shower." He smiled at me, hoping to get one out of me, too.

It worked, in spite of my anger. I sniffed at him and said, "Yeah you do. And a quick tooth brushing wouldn't hurt, either." He smiled even wider, gave me a kiss on the cheek and left the room. Several minutes later, he remerged into the kitchen where Billy and I were sitting at the table chatting. He went to the fridge and grabbed the orange juice, milk, a bag of bagels, two muffins, and bread. I sat there in shock. Was he really going to eat all of that? He put together his meal and had it wolfed down in a matter of minutes. He cleaned up his dishes and we headed outside for our chat.

"So," I said, "you owe me an explanation. Where the hell have you been lately?" I could tell it was paining him to talk about this. It was like he didn't want to tell me; like, if he did, the world would come crashing down.

"Bella, I don't know if I should tell you. It's not really my secret to tell. I don't know if you'd understand. I could get in big trouble if I do."

"Jake," I said, "I need to know. I need to know why you've been ignoring me. Why you've changed all of a sudden. Please. I deserve to know."

He sighed, looked down, and then looked at me from over the tops of his eyes. "Alright, I'll tell you, but without actually telling you. Do you remember that day at La Push when I told you that story about the Cullen's and my ancestors? There was something in the story that made my ancestors special. Do you remember? Think, Bella. I need you to remember. You have to figure this out on your own. That's all I can tell you."

I just looked at him, bewildered. He walked me to my truck and closed the door behind me. I drove away more confused than when I came over. I reached home, not remembering the drive at all. I'd spent the entire time thinking about what he'd said. I went up to my room and just lay there on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I stayed there for what seemed like hours, until sleep finally took me. That night, I dreamed of Jake.

In my dream, I had been walking in the woods, alone. I walked for miles, when I suddenly got the feeling that someone was following me. I stopped dead in my tracks. I stood very still and that's when I heard it. The sound of leaves rustling and twigs breaking. It was coming from behind me. Or was it in front of me? Or maybe from either side. Either way, I was too scared to look. I stared straight ahead, not daring to move my head one inch, when suddenly I saw something moving in the bushes. Its eyes glowed and glared at me. It moved closer. I finally realized that this was a wolf. As it neared, I noticed something familiar about its eyes. I'd seen those eyes before, but where? I stared intently back at it. The funny thing was that it didn't look like it wanted to kill me. It was like it had feelings and emotions. I peered closer and then it hit me. Jake.

I drove to his house the next morning, not sure how I was going to initiate the conversation. I pulled into the drive. When I got to the door, Billy answered and said that Jake was in the barn, working on his car. I hurriedly walked over. I stood in the doorway, not knowing what to say. Jake heard me and stood up, shirtless. _Wow_, I thought, _he's really filled out. When did that happen?_ I didn't need to figure out what to say to him. I guess the look on my face told him everything.

"You know then." It wasn't a question. I did know, and for some reason it didn't scare me. "Are you freaked out now? Are you going to run away from me and leave me? I wouldn't blame you if you did." He was serious! He actually thought that I was going to leave him. All because he was a wolf.

I walked up to him and cupped his face in my hands. I lifted his head so he could look me in the eye. "Jake," I told him, "aren't you forgetting something? Do you realize whom you're talking to? I dated a vampire. Do you seriously think that you being a wolf is going to scare me off?" He gave a small smile and I leaned in to give him a kiss.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

What Dreams May Come

_**Months later…**_

Life just seemed so much simpler with Jake than it did with Edward. Edward always had to be careful whenever he went out, especially during the day. And there was always the temptation and hunger for human blood. He had said that it didn't really bother him, but I wasn't so sure on how sure and confident of himself he really was. I always saw him struggle around me, even though he thought I didn't see it.

Jacob was so much more different. You would never know that he was a wolf. He didn't have any defining characteristics that would give him away, like skin that shimmers in the sunlight. And I didn't have to worry about him having any kind of lust for my blood. It was nice to be able to just walk down the sidewalk and not have to worry about anything bad happening to us while we were out.

Since Edward had left, Victoria had stopped trying to kill me. Jacob and I had been living a quiet life. It all seemed too good to be true. I was hoping, and praying, that it wasn't.

_I was walking down the street by myself. The sidewalks were eerily empty; come to think of it, the whole town seemed desserted. I was walking along, when suddenly I'd heard a noise come from somewhere behind me. I glanced back, but didn't see anyone. I slowly turned back around and continued my walk. There was that sound, again, this time from the left. I looked and, again, there was no one in sight. Before I could turn my head, it came from the left, then from above, then from behind again. I turned around to see if maybe I'd finally see who was playing "hide n' seek" on me. No one. I slowly turned around, and when I did, I was shocked to see who was in front of me. I'd seen him before. I knew him, it seemed, from some other time and place, many years ago. But the eyes were different. Once warm, but now cold and hard…and full of hate. Edward._

_He didn't say anything. He just stood there, staring at me with those eyes. Those…eyes. They looked like they had something feral behind them. I 'd seen that look in his eyes before, but it was never directed at me._

"_Edward," I said, "what are you doing here?"_

_He stood there for a few seconds, staring, then replied, "I've come for you."_

_I didn't understand. Wasn't __**he**__ the one that left __**me**__? Now he's come back for me? "I'm sorry, Edward. But it's too late. I'm with Jacob now. I'm in love with him, not you."_

"_No," he replied, "I've come for you."_

_He bared his teeth. And before I could try to run, he came at me and sunk his teeth into my neck. _

I shook myself awake. Why had I dreamt of him? I was afraid to go back to sleep for fear that it might come back. But before I could fight it, my eyes closed and I drifted off.

_This place seemed vaguely familiar. I felt like I had been here before. Then I remembered, I had. Everything was the same. Then I heard it. The same noises I'd heard before, coming from behind, left, right, all around. Noises that had no source for their sound. _

_I'd heard it come from behind me. I turned around, trying to see who was following me. I turned back, and when I did, I was shocked to see who was in front of me. Even freightened. I recognized the flaming red hair, and those eyes. How could I forget those cold, hateful, red…eyes? A chill whispered down my spine: Victoria._

_She stared at me like a predator watching its prey. She smiled cruelly. "Did you think it was over, Bella? Did you think that just because Edward had left you that I'd forget about you? That I'd stop hunting you? It's not over; it'll never be over. As long as I'm still around, it will never. Be. Over."_

Needless to say, I was more than a little shaken up the next morning. I'd called Jake and asked him to come over. He was concered when I hadn't told him why. I said that it would be easier to talk about in person. He rushed over and hurried into the kitchen the moment he arrived.

We went up to my room and sat down on the bed. He took both of my hands in his, looked me in the eyes, and said, "Ok. Explain."

I wasn't quite sure how or where to start. I took a deep breath and decided to tell him about the Edward dream. He sat there, quietly, listening intently. I could see the worry, and distaste, in his eyes. Worry for me that I'd had this sort of dream, and distaste for Edward that I had dreamt of him. When I was finished, he just sat there. I didn't know if he was upset or just absorbing it all.

Finally, he spoke. "What do you think it meant?"

"I don't know," I replied. "I don't know why I even had it."

He looked up and replied with a slight smile, "Well, it's probably nothing to worry about. It was just a dream." He leaned over, gave me a kiss, and got up to leave.

Before he could walk out the door, I said quietly, "There's more."

He stopped in his tracks, and slowly turned around. "More?"

I could tell he thought there was more to the Edward dream than what I had told him. "No," I replied hurriedly, "not about that dream. I had another one last night."

He looked at me, perplexed. "Another one?" He sat down again. "Tell me."

I took another deep breath and told him about the other dream. This time he looked worried…and scared. He had known that Victoria had been trying to kill me ever since Edward had killed her mate, James. "I guess she's right. I had thought that, just because Edward had left, that she had quit hunting me. But I don't know if I should just ignore it or…I don't know. I don't know what I should do."

I could tell Jacob was thinking. I could tell this concerned him. "I'll alert the pack. I'll tell them to be on the look out for danger and tell them to tell me if they sense anything." He could see the worry and terror in my eyes. He lifted my chin up and said, "Bella, I love you. I am going to do whatever it takes to make you safe again. I promise."

He gave me a light kiss on the lips and we walked down the stairs together. He got into his truck and went home. I watched him from the porch until I could no longer see him. Even with this threat hanging over my head, I had no doubt that Jacob would do whatever it took to keep me safe.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Where Do I Go From Here?

You know how you sometimes get that feeling that you know something awful is about to happpen? But you don't know when or where? Or even how? All you have is that nagging hanging at the back of your brain. Well, that's how I've been feeling the last three weeks.

Ever since I'd had that dream, I haven't been able to put the look in her eyes out of my head. I haven't been able to sleep properly. Charlie's been worrying again because I haven't been eating and I've been secluding myself again. I think he was afraid this was going to turn into another Edward episode. He was asking me a lot of questions about me and Jacob. I kept assuring him that we were fine and that there was nothing to worry about.

It had been three weeks since I'd dreamt of Victoria and nothing had happened. Maybe it was just a dream after all. No, I thought, I can't let my guard down. I didn't want to anticipate that anything wasn't going to happen, yet I didn't want to constantly dwell on the possibility that something might. I didn't want to not be prepared in case Victoria did come after me.

Two weeks later, Jacob showed up one afternoon. He looked like he had been running for miles. His hair was disheveled and he was slick with sweat. He had a worried look in his eyes. He grabbed my hand and asked, "Is Charlie home?" When I shook my head, no, he said, "Good. We need to talk."

He sat me down on the couch and sat across from me. He held both of my hands in his. He was breathing heavily and looking down, as if he was trying to frame his response. When he finally did, what he had to say shocked and terrified me.

"Victoria's scent has been picked up in the woods about 5 miles from here. Paul and Emery were on it, and they told me they had found something. I thought they were wrong; I wanted to believe they were wrong. Of course, when I said that to Paul…well, you can guess what happened." He paused and gave a small smirk. Then he continued, once again serious. "I went to go check it out. I don't think I could ever forget that scent. It stank of vampire. And I knew it wasn't one of the Cullen's, because they haven't been around these parts for close to a year. She's probably close to, if not already in, the area. Bella, we have to move fast. When does Charlie get home?"

"Around 6:00 p.m. Why?"

"Have your bag packed and ready to go as soon as he's asleep. We're going to get you out of here. I don't want you to be here when we go head to head with Victoria."

I just stared at him, perplexed. "Where are you going to take me?"

"To the one place we won't let her trespass. Sam and Emily's house."

Charlie got home at precisely 6:00 p.m. We ate dinner together, in silence. He watched T.V. for a while, and then around 10:00 p.m., he finally went to bed. While he was watching T.V., I was up in my room packing my bag like Jacob has told me. Luckily, Charlie falls asleep pretty fast. Jacob got to our house at 10:15. He ran there so he wouldn't wake up Charlie with his truck. I let Jacob in and he grabbed my stuff.

I asked him what we were going to tell Charlie when he woke up the next morning and I wasn't there. He scribbled a note and set it on the table. He wrote:

_Dear Charlie,_

_By the time you read this, I will be far away from Forks. I can't really tell you why I am leaving, because I don't think that you would understand. But know that I am with Jacob and that I am safe. I will be home soon. How soon I do not know. But I will come home._

_Love, Bella_

As soon as we were outside, he scooped me up in his arms and carried me as he ran. Within fifteen minutes, we were at Sam and Emily's. Jacob set me down and we walked up the drive. Sam heard us and started walking out to meet us. He shook Jacob's hand and gave me a warm smile. "Welcome, Bella. Please, come on in."

We followed him into the house and Emily greeted me with a hug and a smile. "Bella, we are so happy to have you here with us! Please, make yourself at home. And don't worry, you're safe here. Sam will be staying here while the others go out and hunt for Victoria."

Even though she had meant it, I wasn't so sure just how safe I was from Victoria, even among the wolves.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

For the Rest of My Life

I awoke the next day in a room that I did not recognize. Then I remembered that I was at Sam and Emily's. I got up and headed to the bathroom; a shower felt like it was in order. I quickly washed and rummaged through my bag of quickly packed items. After throwing on jeans and a Van Halen t-shirt, I went downstairs.

I wasn't surprised to see the boys sitting at a table that was heavily prepared with mountains of food. Eggs, bagels, muffins, toast, orange juice, milk, bacon, sausage. The way they were attacking it they looked like…well, a pack of wild dogs. They hadn't seen me, but Emily did. She cleared her throat and they all stopped eating and followed her eyes to where she was looking and saw me. They all stood up and smiled at me.

"Hey, Bella!" said Quill, beaming. He walked towards me with his arms outstretched and gave me a big hug.

"Hey, Quill. How have you been?" I asked, as he let go.

"Not too bad, not too bad. Just glad to see you." He smiled and gave me a nudge then motioned for me to sit in his place and eat.

I smiled at him as I sat down and grabbed a muffin and glass of milk. I noticed that, as I was sitting there, they all seemed to be glancing in my direction and smiling. Something weird is going on, I thought to myself. Why is everyone staring at me? As if feeling that I was getting uncomfortable, Jacob walked in the door. He saw me sitting at the table and smiled at me. I smiled back as he gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"You finished?" he asked.

I nodded my head. "Yeah."

"Good," he said. "Come on, I have something I want to show you."

He grabbed my hand and led me outside to the shed. It was pretty empty, aside from some tools and old paint cans. I was waiting for him to unveil something magnificient. I looked around, but didn't see anything. I shrugged. "Alright. I give up. Where is it?"

"Where is what?"

"The thing you were going to show me."

He was beginning to look uncomfortable. I could see he was starting to sweat. He wa wringing his hands and pacing. "Jacob, what's going on? What's wrong?" Finally, he stopped and looked at me.

"I was hoping that I would be able to do this in a more romantic fashion under different circumstances." He stood in front of me then got down on one knee.

Oh, dear God! I thought. My heart began to beat faster. Is this actually happening? I watched as he took out a little metal ring.

"Sorry it isn't a diamond ring, but it's the best I could come up with for now. I made it out of a shaved piece of metal I took off of the Rabbit. I want you to know that I love you more than anything in this whole world. In case anything should happen, I wouldn't want to go off and fight Victoria without knowing that you're wearing my ring as my wife. Isabella Swan, will you marry me?"

My mind was reeling; it all happened so fast. I must've looked like an idiot standing there with my mouth hanging open. Jacob was asking me to marry him. It's true, I did love him more than anything, but did I really want to get married? I thought, Come on, brain, tell my tongue to say something. Finally, I spoke. With tears in my voice, I managed to choke out, "Yes. Yes, I will marry you!"

Jacob face broke out into the widest smile I'd ever seen. He stood up and scooped me up into his arms. He slipped the ring onto my finger, which fit surprisingly well. I smiled up at him and gave him a kiss. We held hands as we walked outside. Before we even got out, everyone was running towards us jumping and cheering. Oh, yeah, I forgot, wolf ESP.

"Congratulations!" cried Emery. "We just heard the news!"

Emily gave me a big hug and said, "Welcome to the family."

Paul gave Jacob a hug and replied, "We were wondering when you were going to do it. You'd been thinking about it all night."

That's when it hit me. "So that's why everyone kept staring at me! You guys knew."

"Yeah, subtlety isn't their forte," Sam replied.

We were all smiling and laughing on our way back to the house. I leaned into Jacob and asked, "So, when are we going to do this thing?"

He smiled at me and said, "First thing tomorrow morning."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I Do…Forever

I'd never planned a wedding before and this one wasn't any different. Seeing as we were basically eloping, no planning was required. Well, not much, at least. We didn't have to book the church, reception site, caterer, etc. We only had to go down to the court house and the rest took care of itself. The only part I wasn't looking forward to was buying a dress. I know, I know it should be every little girl's dream to go dress shopping. But, honestly, when Edward and I broke up, I never thought I'd get married. I was, however, grateful that Alice wasn't here. She would have wanted to plan the whole thing. I can't imagine how my wedding would have turned out had she done so.

I went to a dress shop and started looking around. I wasn't sure if I should wear white since it wasn't a formal wedding. Taking this into consideration, I'd decided on a simple off the shoulder, calf length ivory dress with ivory pumps. I went back to Sam and Emily's and got ready. Just as I was putting on my pumps, I'd heard a light tapping on my door.

"Come in."

I looked in the full length mirror in front of me and saw that it was Emily. I stood up as she walked in. She looked me over and gave me a smile.

"You looked beautiful, my dear."  
"Thank you," I said with a smile, as I looked down at my shoes. "I was hoping that I'd picked out the right colored dress."

She walked towards me and took my hands in hers. "I just wanted to wish you good luck. And I have some things to give you." She opened up a box she had and took the items out one by one. She took out a small locket and put it around my neck. "This was mine when I was a little girl. It was very special to me; and I want you to have it. Jacob has been like a son to me, so you'll be my daughter, now. And I would be honored if you would take this as a gift from me to you."

"Oh, my gosh, Emily. It's beautiful. Thank you," I said with a smile.

"That's your something old. Do you have a ring to give Jacob?"

A ring. Shoot! I hadn't given any thought to that. What was I going to do?

"I take it from the shocked expression on your face that you don't. Well, don't you worry." She reached into her pocket and took out a gold band. She reached out for my hand and turned it palm up. She placed it in my hand. "This ring once belonged to my father. I would like you to give it to Jacob."

I nodded my head and put it into my purse.

"Something new," she smiled. "I will let you borrow these earrings, for good luck," she said with a wink.

"How about these blue hair pins for something blue?" I asked, catching on.

She smiled at me and said, "They're perfect." She grabbed my brush and gathered strands of hair and pinned it up. When she finished, she clapped her hands together and said, "So, shall we go?"

The courthouse wasn't anything special. In fact, it was kind of cold and sterile looking. Marble columns lined the walls and stretched all the way to the ceiling. Jacob and I made our way, hand in hand. We were ushered into the judges chambers and sat down. I could tell that Jacob was nervous; his was shaking his leg up and down. A few minutes later, the judge walked in.

"Good afternoon," he said as he greeted us with a smile. "I am Judge McGinty. Now, before we get started, do you have everything you need? You do? Good. Alright, shall we?"

We looked at eachother and smiled. We called in Sam and Emily. And, standing in front of the judge, finally became man and wife.

I noticed that Jacob couldn't stop looking at his ring. "This was Emily's dad's?"

"Yeah," I said, as I looked down at it, too. "She thinks of you as a son, you know."

"Sorry I couldn't get you a nice diamond ring. I promise I will someday."

"It doesn't matter. I love the ring you made for me." I leaned over and gave him a kiss on the lips. "Besides, we have our whole lives for you to make it up to me." He smiled at me and gave a chuckle then kissed me.

"You're right. We do." We got up and walked out of the courthouse. "You do realize what tonight is, right?"

I did, and I tried not to think about it. Not that I didn't want to, it's just that, I'd never done it before and I was a little nervous. "Yes. I do." I wasn't quite sure what to say, so I remained silent.

He just looked at me and shrugged. "So? Are you excited?"

I tried to frame my answer carefully. So I simply said, "Well, where are we going to go? I mean, I don't think we'd feel to comfortable doing it in your bed."

He stood in front of me and said, "Don't worry. Sam and Emily got us a hotel room. We're all set." He flashed a wide devlish smile. I could tell that he was puzzled over my reaction. "What's wrong? You do want me, don't you?"

"Yes, of course I do," I hurriedly replied. "It's just that…"

He looked like I'd just kicked him. "I know. I'm not Edward. You always envisioned yourself marrying him and it's him that you want in your bed…" he was beginning to raise his voice and talk faster.

I stopped him mid-sentence. "Jacob, no, no. You've got it all wrong. It's not that. I do want you. It's just that I'm nervous. I've never done this before."

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I just assumed that…well, never mind what I assumed. All that matters is that you're mine, and I love you."

I pulled him close and gave him a kiss. "So, shall we go to our hotel room?"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The Hardest Thing We'll Ever Go Through

I was in a state of euphoria. I felt like I was flying high on a…well, I guess I now understood the phrase "on cloud nine." To make sure I wasn't just dreaming, I rolled over and opened my eyes. I smiled when I saw Jacob softly snoring on my right. I took my left arm out from beneath the covers. I lifted my hand and looked at my fourth finger. Yep, it was there. The ring that Jacob had made for me was glistening in the sunlight. I smiled as I twisted it with my middle finger and pinkie. I still wasn't used to the feel of a ring on my finger. Mmm, I sighed to myself. It feels nice.

Not wanting to wake him, I quietly got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. I turned on the light and closed the door. I went to the sink and splashed water on my face. As I toweled my face off, I caught a glimpse of my ring in the mirror. It looked so natural there. I undressed and turned on the shower. The hot water was a welcome feeling. When I finished, I got out and wrapped a towel around me. Jacob was just getting up when I walked out the bathroom.

"Good morning, sunshine," I smiled.

"Good morning, Mrs. Black," he smile back.

That's right. My new official title was Mrs. Jacob Black. Isabella Black. Wow, it had a nice ring to it. I went over to him and gave him a kiss. He put his arm around my waist. I could tell he wanted to…again. But the look on his face told me that he couldn't.

"We have to leave this morning. I have to get you back to Sam and Emily's. Paul informed me that Victoria is close. While I'm taking a shower, why don't you get our things together?"

He rose off the bed and gave me a kiss. I watched him as he closed the door. I stood there staring at the bed. I can't believe the honeymoon is over already. I got dressed and began folding and putting away our clothes. Jacob got out of the shower and quickly dressed. We left a few minutes later and were at Sam and Emily's in no time.

The rest of the pack was there and as soon as they saw us, they ran towards us and congratulated us. Sam walked slowly into the room and it had just occurred to me that I hadn't seen him earlier. He looked at them and said solemnly, "Alright. It's time. I will be staying back here with Bella and Emily to protect them. The rest of you, you know what to do. Oh, and one more thing: be careful."

They came up to us one by one and said their good byes. Jacob approached me and caressed my arms. It was tearing him apart to leave me. He leaned his forehead on my head and kissed me.

"I **will** come back. I promise. And when I return, we will have the rest of our lives to hold eachother." He pulled me into a hug and we embraced for what seemed like forever and yet not long enough. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too."

We pulled back and he left. Emily came up behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. "He's right, you know. He will come back. Having you as his wife will make him fight all the harder. It will give him something to come home to. Come on. Let's sit down and eat something. Now we play the waiting game."

Blackness…blinding darkness…what was that?…sounds all around…more blackness…eyes shining in the dark…then…

I sat up with a start, breathing heavily. Whatever it was had lunged at me. It was dark by the time I woke up. I could hear talking. They must be back. I hurriedly got and ran down the kithcen. I stopped at the entrance and was hoping to see Jacob. They looked worried. Sam turned and looked at me. He walked over and put his hand on my shoulder. I immediately thought the worst.

"There's been an accident. Jacob was hurt in the fight. He's in a lot of pain. If Carlisle were here he'd be able to fix him up in no time. But, seeing as he's not, we've have to do it ourselves the best we could. Emily's done all she can for now. We've given him something for the pain and something to help him sleep. But he's been asking for you. You should go to him. It'll help him." He smiled at me and turned away.

When I entered the room, I could see that he was lying on the bed, his arm in a sling. I came closer and sat down next to him. He opened his eyes a little and he smiled at me. I held his free hand and squeezed it.

"I was wondering when you were going to get here," he said with a weak smile. "You were sleeping when we got back."

"Yeah, I don't know why they didn't wake me. When I heard you were hurt, I thought the worst. I would have wanted to be there for you."

"Sam insisted that we not wake you. He didn't want you to see me that way. Trust me, I looked pretty bad,"he said with a small grin.

Emily rapped lightly on the door. She opened it and poked her head in. "Sorry to interrupt," she said quietly. "But Jacob needs his rest. We'll check on him in the morning."

I leaned over and gave him light kiss on the lips and left the room. I gently closed the door behind me and walked over to the kitchen. The boys saw me and they all stood up and Paul offered me his chair. I smiled and sat down. Emily put a cup of tea in my hands. The warmth felt good. It wasn't as warm as Jacob, but it'd do. I stayed up when the others all went to bed. "He'll be okay, right? I mean, it's not that bad, is it?"

Sam came up behind me and put his hands on the back of the couch. "Yeah, he'll be fine. Jacob's a fighter. Emily's not a doctor, but, she knows her stuff. Plus, being a wolf helps. His body fights off things a lot faster than the normal human body. Don't you worry. He'll be up and running around in no time. And he has you. And that gives him something to fight for."

He said that last one with a wink and a smile. He patted my shoulder and walked away. I believed him. I knew Jacob would be alright. And when he did recover, we would be together…forever.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Epilogue

_**One year later…**_

It was a beautiful summer afternoon. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. I was standing by the kitchen sink washing the dishes, humming to myself. I was thinking of all that we'd been through this past year, when suddenly, the thought of Edward came, unbidden, to my mind. I thought of all that I had endured after he had left me alone in that cold forest. That had been a long, cruel few months. I remembered everything.

But I had survived. That was the important thing; I had survived. What Edward did to me, it was in the past. I know that he only did what he thought was best for me. When he left me, I thought it was the end; but it was only the beginning. Then I began to think of Jacob and how, no matter what I did to him, he never abandoned me. He was loyal, just like a puppy. I didn't know until later how ironic that was. The thought brought a smile to face.

It was because of him that I made it through those tough months. We had grown closer over that time. And now we were married. That one year had flown by fast. If Edward were here, I would thank him for what he had done. I stood there scrubbing the dishes, and I glanced up and looked out the window. I could see Jacob playing outside with our nine month old daughter. He was tossing her up in the air and I could hear her laughing. I smiled when I saw him give her a kiss on her little chubby cheek. I finished the last of the dishes and I headed outside to join them.

You know, sometimes terrible things happen in your life and you think that it's the end of the world. It's as if the whole world is falling down around you and there's no to pick up the pieces for you. And just when you think that it'll never get better, someone or something comes into your life and turns everything upside down. Life is amazing. You just have to allow yourself to see it.


End file.
